Sats for seven year olds set to be scrapped in England but not yet

The Government has announced that Sats will be scrapped for seven year olds but not for a while.

The Government has announced an overhaul of primary school assessment which will include scrapping the compulsory Sats tests for seven-year-olds from 2023.

The changes will mean that the standardise testing in reading , writing and maths will become optional from 2023 . These will be replaced with an assessment of reception children to measure ability which will commence in 2020. Children in year 4 will also undergo a multiplication check.

The year 2 Sats tests have been critised by both parents and teachers for putting too much pressure on children of young age .

The National Association of Head Teachers have welcomed the changes. Nick Brook, the NAHT’s deputy general secretary has told the Gaurdian that “The decision to make Sats for seven-year-olds non-statutory in favour of a new reception baseline assessment may well be met with trepidation by some, but it is absolutely the right thing to do,”

However others such as Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre School Learning Alliance feel that the baseline assessment at reception level "often produce unreliable results" and " risk placing undue pressure on young children at the very start of their educational journeys."